2006年VOA标准英语-Somali Government Claims Control of Buale

By Cathy Majtenyi
Nairobi
23 October 2006

 The Somali government says it has control over a town that experienced a battle with the Islamic Courts Sunday.

The coordinator¹ of Somali affairs in Kenya, Mohamed Ali Nur Americo, tells VOA that, as of Monday morning local time, government troops are controlling the town of Buale, more than 80 kilometers north of the port city of Kismayo.

"As far as we are concerned, this morning the minister of defense² and his forces are in Buale," he said. "They are controlling that area. If there's any further counterattack, the ministry³ of defense and its forces are ready to defend themselves and defend the area."

Buale Sunday was the scene of a fierce battle between fighters aligned⁴ to the Islamic Courts Union and government troops. At least five people were reportedly killed in the fighting.

The French news agency quoted Islamic officials as saying that they had chased away members of the area's militia⁵ Juba Valley Alliance and had taken their armed vehicles.

Islamist commander Sheikh Yakubu Ali told the French news agency, AFP, that the Islamic Courts Union is controlling Buale.

Meanwhile, government troops have reportedly withdrawn⁶ from the town of Burhakaba, located about 60 kilometers southeast of Baidoa where the government is based, following fighting there Saturday, also between government troops and Islamic Courts Union fighters. Somali news websites quote a local Islamic court leader as saying the Islamic Courts Union has re-taken control of Burhakaba.

The coordinator of Somali affairs in Kenya Americo tells VOA Islamist fighters have gathered in a small town called Lego near Burhakaba.

"The report that we had last night was that the Islamic Courts were in a small town called Lego," he said. "But as of this morning there was no counter-attack from the Islamic Courts and there was no fighting."

Government troops took control of Burhakaba from the Islamists on October 9, which appeared to be the first major advance against the Islamic Courts Union by the Somali government.

The Islamic Courts Union first started expanding control in June, when its militias⁷ control of the capital, Mogadishu. It has since captured much of southern Somalia.

Somalia's interim⁸ government and the Islamic Courts Union have been trying to negotiate a peace agreement that would see some sort of a power-sharing arrangement between them. The two met in Sudan last month, and are scheduled to finalize⁹ their agreement at the end of this month.

The two sides are also deadlocked¹⁰ over the issue of a regional peacekeeping force that the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development has offered, and, which the African Union has endorsed¹¹.

The courts are vehemently¹² opposed to having foreign peacekeepers in Somalia, while the government supports such a move. The courts also maintain that Ethiopian troops have crossed over into Somalia to support the Somali government, a claim the government denies.

The ICU has declared a "holy war" against Ethiopian troops allegedly on Somali territory, saying in a statement Monday that "their graves would litter the country."

Since civil war broke out in 1991, militias loyal to clan¹³ and sub-clan-based factions¹⁴ have controlled different parts of the country, with no central authority to provide law and order and even basic services to the population.

A transitional Somali parliament was formed in Kenya more than a year ago following a peace process.

1 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

2 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

3 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

4 aligned   

adj.对齐的，均衡的

参考例句：

• Make sure the shelf is aligned with the top of the cupboard.务必使搁架与橱柜顶端对齐。

5 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

6 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

7 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

8 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

9 finalize   

v.落实，定下来

参考例句：

• Let us finalize tonight.让我们今天晚上干完
• 。At the same time,industrial designers work with engineers to finalize components and assembly.同时，工业设计师和工程师一道来完成部件和组装部分的工作。

10 deadlocked   

陷入僵局的；僵持不下的

参考例句：

• The plan deadlocked over the funds. 这个计划由于经费问题而搁浅了。
• The meeting deadlocked over the wage issue. 会议因工资问题而停顿下来。

11 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 vehemently   

adv. 热烈地

参考例句：

• He argued with his wife so vehemently that he talked himself hoarse. 他和妻子争论得很激烈，以致讲话的声音都嘶哑了。
• Both women vehemently deny the charges against them. 两名妇女都激烈地否认了对她们的指控。

13 clan   

n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派

参考例句：

• She ranks as my junior in the clan.她的辈分比我小。
• The Chinese Christians,therefore,practically excommunicate themselves from their own clan.所以，中国的基督徒简直是被逐出了自己的家族了。

14 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别